Fetzen

O R I F L A M M E

Weeks prior...

Event: - | Location: Anonymous location in Parrence, at the edge of a small forest

A mild cough escaped the Yasoi's body as a wisp of smoke introduced the acrid smell of burnt flesh into the man's nose. An agressive something was in the air, a gaseous aberration that would be identified as 'ozone' only some day in the future maybe, but that irritated Otios's poor eyes badly right now already. The latter also had to withstand the steady, unpredictable and sudden changes between the weak amount of light coming from a few candles and the violent, bright flashes caused by the discharges around his hand.

Drawing on parchment not by the means of ink and dye, but by means of scorching the surface layer using a spark was a quite monochromatic affair, but also a much longer lasting and robust one as Otios hoped. No messing around with colored glop, no worries about things becoming wet, no need to keep a lavish set of pencils, brushes and palettes in working order. A small copper needle was all he needed to go in an ad hoc manner -- and a lot of patience as emulating shades by burning a dense net of criss-crossed lines into the parchment required a very calm, steady hand.

There just was one slight issue... Otios'yyia'thala so far had not much reason to consider himself to be a man particularly talented in creating art. In fact, the drawing he created right now solely served the purpose of hashing out this electric method further and he was not even into the first dozen of these attempts, so even without considering the artistic value of his creation there still were a few significant issues to iron out. Yet another wisp of ugly smoke emanating from the parchment, for example. Too much current or too slow movement caused local overheating and unwanted incineration the Yasoi needed to put out immediately, so Otios pressed his palm firmly against the parchment repeatedly.

Knock. Knock.

His whole body twitched in surprise as the unmistakable sound of someone requesting entry into his humble dwelling place was to be heard. His field of view rushed towards the messy heap of items that was his basic equipment always ready to be picked up in a hurry, but he still had time to evaluate a few things before jumping into action, right ?

Knock. Knock. Knock.

Far too strong and decisive to come from a mere stranger who was in fear of bad weather and tried to ask for shelter politely, but also lacking the kind of aggression that would come from a soldier wanting to catch yet another wrongdoer. Otios reached for one of his silver staffs and moved his hand so it would hide the item in its grip from the individual standing outside once the door was open, then moved the heavy bar out of its locking position.

"Yes ?" Otios was used to stare into the void when searching for a face on eye level, but surprised that he did not have to crane his neck downwards that much. His unexpected visitor had the height of his own kind, just the opposite gender, and brought up a slight and also slightly nervous smile for him.

"Are you Otios'... Thala ?" her gentle voice asked.

"Otios'yyia'thala, but you can just call me Otios. May I ask who you are and what brings you here ?" Part of his anxiety about having been discovered by the wrong people vanished, but caution remained. She obviously was not a soldier and he had only seen a surprisingly low number of those around the area in the first place recently, but he also knew all too well that one did not need arms to do harm in this world.

"Voral'dan'bar. Lady Talit sends me. Well, not directly, but I've been tasked with contacting you in the broader sense. You don't know her probably, but I'm here to convince you that this unfamiliarity shall only be a temporary one. War is on the horizon and while the Yasoi are not the direct target it is in our own interest to make sure we won't be the next."

Otios gave his eyebrow a nudge in the upwards direction. A quite daring story to be utter nonsense, was it ? Also it did not slip past his attention that Voral was already fumbling around with what seemed to be a piece of parchment hidden beneath her travel clothes. The large wax sigil on it looked quite important, but who'd he be if he had not tried to fake one of these himself at least once ?

"The next ? On whose list ?"

"Eskandr."

Otios let go of a sigh. These humans...

---

Present

Event: Defense of Relouse | Location: Relouse Encampment, Parrence.

It had taken quite a bit more effort to convince Otios than just a short talk at the door, but the overall evidence and flanking arguments presented by Voral'dan'bar had been a bit too impressive to ignore. Just how this female had made allusions about his more serious hobbies than drawing however was a discomforting feeling. How could she have gotten to know ? So it had been with great relief when the Yasoi had seenthe huge number of soldiers, the cavalry and the many other individuals needed for waging war himself. Something very important and high level indeed had to go on when a crowd impressive enough to make even him no longer stick out of it gathered, so maybe some very serious resources and relationships had been activated to find him. It made the very fact of his discovery a bit more excusable in his own judgement

If only a similar amount of effort had gone into establishing a Yasoi-driven supply chain however then maybe he would not have had to stick with those standard issue tents of the human army! Their supporting poles and bars were a pain in his neck or on his scalp, depending on how lucky and attentive he was. Needless to add that some of the non-Yasoi men and woman had openly voiced their jokes about someone's inability to infiltrate if said somebody exhibited such great talent at involuntary collisions.

This whole, yet green field would become the stage for one colossal and no less horrid 'involuntary collision'! At least if one was with Parrench. For those opposing them it was more of a planned calamity and things did not look good in terms of espionage as long as those thousand longships had not spilled their angry cargo yet. One could not just climb aboard a moving vessel and search it thoroughly just moments before it was about to hit the shore!

So, for the moment, Otios found himself idling around at the top of a small hill together with a bunch of archers and listened to the king's speech, already fearing that the only thing he'd steal today was life itself.

O R I F L A M M E

Otios'yyia'thala

Otios'yyia'thala__ _ _ _ _

32 | M A L E | Y A S O I | T H U N D E R - B L O O D | I N F I L T R A T O R__ _ _ _ _

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S__ _ _ _ _

At first glance, Otios looks like somebody who might live much more on the street than he might do in a proper house. His blonde, medium-length hair is a mess barely maintained well enough to keep out of his field of vision and his beard is not very friendly towards those trying to kiss him to say the least. He presents a rather grumpy facial expression by default when not actively trying to do otherwise and his amber eyes are a good addition to this for they are as much striking as their gaze is piercing. Maybe that's also because a black pupil is all the more distinguishable from all the pale skin around it.

Otios' ears are comparably mildly pointed and, combined with his hair covering them, do not provide much indication about his non-human nature. What does so a lot more however is the fact that he is no less tall than 7'3, well proportioned and outfitted with enough muscle to keep himself moving efficiently. So... a very lot, but since it also spreads out over such long limbs and such large areas it's neither blatantly visible nor does it give him that much of an excess of statically useable strength in the end. One probably just doesn't want him to step, or stumble, upon oneself however.

Otios'yyia'thala can probably best be described as the ultimate outcome of combining a Yasoi's typical, intrinsic greed for discovery and their hands-on mentality with a lot of a 'don't care' attitude he's been born with. There is no childhood in poverty, no tragic, sudden loss of a parent or any other kind of outside catastrophy, just the overruling desire to do things his way that, maybe, has fallen on very fertile soil represented by some mishaps in his upbringing. Also it is just a lot easier to roam around on somebody else's private land and country if the very definition of 'private land and country' has never existed for oneself in the first place.

Behind all that stealing, ransacking and other unlawful doings to accumulate wealth is something very different than just spending all on booze, food and other short-lived benefits however. People have learned to use fire outside the realm of magic far longer ago than any book can tell. They have managed to erect giant cities from solid materials of any kind and the dream to fly like a bird in the air instead of just levitating by means of mana is a commonly accepted thing. When it comes to thunderstorms however all people know is fear and upon seeing two small metallic rocks repelling or attracting each other without any visible connection between them superstition is never far way. Otios sees electricity and magnetism as just another domain of nature both Humans and Yasoi, for some reason that has eluded him so far, have yet utterly failed to make proper, constructive use of for everyone. Nature itself has no mana, has it ? And yet it can make all of this happen, so it must be possible to do without magic, too. Unfortunately it has dawned upon Otios that even the simplest attempt to achieve a significant breakthrough in that matter might require more elaborate facilities than he could ever afford by conventional means, let alone standing against all those saying 'no' and 'that won't work!'.

Otios'yyia'thala, albeit certainly having caused a lot of outrage, crying or regret throughout his 'career', is far more focused on his personal gain than he is on affecting others with misery. He not just sees the profit of theft, but enjoys the very act of doing it. Yet on the other hand he has not killed any of those he has taken from so far and preferred escape and second try in place of spreading serious injury. The latter has happened here and there though when cornered or just pressed too hard. In fact, upon noticing that an item obtained actually has been far more useless and boring than anticipated, Otios has actually returned some of them for the sake of having fun getting in and out twice -- and the feeling of not having caused harm without also having caused someone's, his, benefit.

When not 'busy', he can most often be seen in one of two places: the local tavern endulging himself and trying to wash away unwanted memories by means of alcohol, or seeking lonelyness or at least the presence of only his closest friends in order to enter a more meditative state, thinking about future plans and the broad, far away goals of himself. One can safely judge his freelancing lifestyle to be comparably difficult to get along with, but those who have managed to not only gain his friendship, but also take the brunt of his rather exquisite job, have always been able to count on his loyality and intelligence.

B A C K G R O U N D__ _ _ _ _

Starting in AOZ12, Otios' life has not looked like being up to a vigorous start at first. His parents had already reached an unusually high age for giving birth to a child, even by Yasoi standards, so they had also already been well past the point of having to prove themselves. Malicious gossip has it that, in hindsight, this has been the root cause for Otios' derailing: Without seeing the need for a lot of adventure for themselves, Otios' parents also didn't see the need for such a thing in their only son until they could no longer hold back his growing desires and ambitions. From that point onwards overcompensation set in and the young, utterly inexperienced and not very socialized Otios' was set up for mistaking his sudden freedom with the allowance to do just everything he wanted. A miracle it's merely been becoming a thief and not the worst, cold-blooded killer the world has ever seen!

Whether this gossip is true or just rubbish ? His parents of course oppose any such accusations, and he himself does not really care or is just way too far away to pick them up in the first place. He has moved out of the Yasoi heartland several years ago for humans have just been a target looking easier and less dangerous because, again, they're much further away from where any bad word about him might actually matter and more remote regions are statistically bound to yield more interesting results than one's neighbourhood. Another thing worth mentioning might be that there are also those people who actually approve his doings once they get to know about them. Which poor man feeling left behind and exploited by all those snobs, corrupt merchants, egoistic nobles and unworldly mayors wouldn't approve such a nonchalant reversal in the flow of wealth, especially if part of said wealth might suddenly end up in his own hands in exchange for nothing more than a small favor ? Just feeling easier with humans, though Otios has never really tried that extensively within the boundaries of his own kind to have a real comparison.

Speaking of 'get to know', he so far has been pretty successful in keeping everything on a 'need to know' basis -- and any officials certainly don't need to know. He has a clean slate though he also can't rule out the possibility that some of those he has left behind might just be too clever to tell him they already know and instead could just be waiting for the right moment to strike back. It's the hazard of his profession and if breaking out of jail should have to be added to his list, then so be it.

Why should he ever report to the king for the sake of the nation though ? The answer is simple: There's nothing so well suited to forge unlikely bonds like a common enemy -- and aside from that just how incredibly less dignifying would it be to steal from those whom even the primitives regard as primitives: those barbarians of the South! Otios accepts that he might have to put aside his current creeds for the sake of the greater good and ultimately his own, long-term future. Last but not least any considerable contribution to an overall success of Parrence would weigh heavily against any future accusations that could come up against himself, be it for things already done or still to come.

I N V E N T O R Y__ _ _ _ _

❖ Two silver staffs of medium length with steel caps on their ends. They are pretty much just bolted on tightly and easy to remove and replace with others of the same or different shape. A seemingly harmless duo of identical tools that serves the purpose of conducting current in and out of potentially super-heated things without burning one's own hands. They can be used as clubs or levers, too.
❖ A small crossbow with a rope and grappling hook.
❖ Sturdy leather armor with very little metallic components included
❖ A thick fur cloak, just in case the weather turns cold and ugly
❖ Everyday necessities such as some spare food, water and a bedroll
❖ Candles
❖ Set of lockpicks
❖ A riding horse by the name of Sakar, even though, at his size, Otios'yyia'thala looks a bit weird on such a beast. He doesn't care though as long as it's a faster getaway than he can do on his own feet

T H E G I F T__ _ _ _ _

Five wheels rating: 4

Favored school: Thunder

Blood type: Thunderchild

Otios prefers low-energy applications as long as possible and can often be seen (or rather not seen) trying to invent new methods of doing things right in the field: Can this small lock be melted away by sending too much current through it ? Or can it be sorta welded together so this door cannot be opened behind his back anymore ? Can one make these sets or armor put up for the sake of decoration rattle to cause some distraction ? Or is it true that pretty much everyone is worried about his or her steps causing noise, but pretty much noone knows that their very steel breastplate or longsword causes a small distortion in the otherwise perfectly aligned magnetic field of the world itself that can be picked up ? And it can be almost disturbingly easy to incapacitate somebody if he can just get his fingers onto said somebody's skin in the right place.

Under enough pressure or if the situation just makes it too much of a viable option however Otios can do far less subtle, too. Variable magnetism induces current into metallic things without touching them, current produces heat, heat sets fire to buildings and persons. So one can set at least some things on fire without hurling an actual, terribly big and noisy flame at them and even through barriers that don't hinder magnetic flow -- how great is that ? Or just send a damn, demonstrative thunderbolt if somebody calls him out as 'slow and boring as a snail' again!

That is as far as his inclination towards the realm of electromagnetism goes. Otios is aware of the fact that he might have some significant talent with the more dubious magical art commonly called 'Blood' as well, but neither does his general desire not to spread harm without second thought allow him to just draw such an exquisite resource from other living beings, nor has his lifestyle so far allowed him to do any extensive studies yet. So, to sum things up, he does not have any real repertoire in that respect yet, just potential. Also there is one thing he could always happily manipulate without angering his own conscience: his own body.

S T R E N G T H S & S K I L L S__ _ _ _ _

❖ Maybe his most important strength is his wit
❖ Should wit not help though, he has a very high magical capacity and skill he can put to both constructive and obliterative use
❖ Stealth, not necessarily only in terms of moving himself but also with regard to aspect such as temporarily disabling or even killing persons without causing a mess
❖ His Yasoi background and physiology makes him quite good at acts of acrobatics such as climbing, jumping and using ropes or similar things. Actually much better than the uneducated onlooker might suspect at first.

W E A K N E S S E S & F L A W S__ _ _ _ _

❖ A considerable portion of his repertoire more or less depends on the situation. For example said lock might just be too thickly built to heat up enough without spending absurd amounts of energy into the necessary current, or the whole building might contain too much iron to distinguish magnetic distortions caused by an actual persons's gear from those caused by irrelevant junk.
❖ Otios does know that the double-edged side of a sword is actually meant to go into your opponent's wobbly gut and not into your holding hand, but that's pretty much for it. He has never received any real training with swords, maces or whatever other melee weaponry that is so commonly around.
❖ Otios is not exactly flimsily built and a very heavy man by means of sheer height alone already, but one has to consider the fact that all of his muscle also spreads out over all of his height so he is neither particularly strong nor particularly fast.
❖ Might be a bit hard to socialize with.

C O L O U R C O D E & O T H E R__ _ _ _ _

❖ The middle name 'yyia' is the brainchild of a few of his Yasoi friends from back in his youth. They deemed the name 'Otios'thala' to be on the borderline of being a tongue twister, so they thought that the addition of something complicated might do the trick and cause people to knot their own tongues together while trying to spell it. They put their idea to the trial with sort of an inofficial 'contest' and the sheer intensity with which Otios extended name was inadvertently maimed, butchered, abused or completely missed vocally by quite a bunch of people convinced them that he had the right to bear this addition for a lifetime.
❖ The pronounciation of his name is a little ambiguous: The parts 'Otios' and 'Thala' have a pretty straightforward phonation that is no different from other words such as 'otiose' (the adjunct) or 'thallium' (the metal). For 'yyia' however there is no such thing as a real rule in the Yasoi language for it is an artificial construct primarily designed to be complicated as descripted in the previous paragraph. Most people instinctively go for something like 'Heya', just without the H and a lot of emphasis on the 'e' however.
❖ FF9900

O R I F L A M M E

I've implemented the following changes/fixes to Otios' sheet:

• Bumped down his 5W rating from 4½ to 4
• Added a small explanation about his weird name to the 'Other' section
• Added a small explanation about how to pronounce his weird name to the 'Other' section
• Added Blood as a second school he might be talented at, but he does not have any real repertoire/spell he can use there yet. Basically an open space for future character developments in the RP itself.

The Mystery (WolfLover + Fetzen)

'Mr. Reinhart', the male Amara had addressed, was quite the imposing figure himself and such was not simply because he stood a lot taller than her, but also because one could easily start a debate about which thing was actually bigger: the man's beard or his belly ? Mr. Reinhart was still a soldier formally, but it hardly took a second guess to figure out that the only weapons he still used to bear were the seemingly endless stacks of parchment in the military's administration and even then it was dubious whether he did so over any distance longer than the inside of his office. He was a man clearly past his prime, but that did not stop him from feeling, and probably being, quite important still.

"Who are you ? Did the guards at the entrace not pay attention yet another time or how does it come someone like you is here ? I've learned to tell who's a soldier and who isn't at first glance and you don't seem to belong to the first category!" were the words Mr. Reinhart was not hesitant to hurl at his guest. The sheer amount of scepticism he brought along was hard to miss as he looked down on her, inspecting her small frame up and down with his small eyes deeply embedded in their respective sockets. Mr. Reinhart's face had become adorned with many wrinkles, but he still maintained the posture of a soldier. This also was his place, and he would not let anyone in who had not been authorized!

Valentin was quite a few yards away from the uneven duo and feeling increasingly worried about the fact that the training had already begun a bunch of minutes ago, but he still could not spot anybody who could be his future companion. It took a sudden change of orders from the officer leading the column of trainees behind him that opened a gap in their ranks, finally allowing Valentin to see what was happening at the yard's outer rim again. Amara was hard to miss for she looked just so out of place here while also fitting what little information he had been given beforehand. And Valentin could immediately tell she was in trouble for he himself had already had the pleasure of first contact with Mr. Reinhart. This guy enjoyed what he did, right ?

"Mr. Reinhart!" it came out of Valentin's mouth probably a bit more loud and firmly than would have been necessary for the other man to understand him. "You can regard the presence of the person in front of you as confirmation for my explanation of being here as I am quite certain that she is, in fact, the one I've been waiting for!"

Valentin blinked with one eye towards Amara, hoping that it was a subtle enough gesture for Mr. Reinhart not to notice. "Greetings. You've been on the lookout for me, right ?"

O R I F L A M M E

Otios'yyia'thala

Otios'yyia'thala__ _ _ _ _

32 | M A L E | Y A S O I | T H U N D E R - B L O O D | I N F I L T R A T O R__ _ _ _ _

C H A R A C T E R I S T I C S__ _ _ _ _

At first glance, Otios looks like somebody who might live much more on the street than he might do in a proper house. His blonde, medium-length hair is a mess barely maintained well enough to keep out of his field of vision and his beard is not very friendly towards those trying to kiss him to say the least. He presents a rather grumpy facial expression by default when not actively trying to do otherwise and his amber eyes are a good addition to this for they are as much striking as their gaze is piercing. Maybe that's also because a black pupil is all the more distinguishable from all the pale skin around it.

Otios' ears are comparably mildly pointed and, combined with his hair covering them, do not provide much indication about his non-human nature. What does so a lot more however is the fact that he is no less tall than 7'3, well proportioned and outfitted with enough muscle to keep himself moving efficiently. So... a very lot, but since it also spreads out over such long limbs and such large areas it's neither blatantly visible nor does it give him that much of an excess of statically useable strength in the end. One probably just doesn't want him to step, or stumble, upon oneself however.

Otios'yyia'thala can probably best be described as the ultimate outcome of combining a Yasoi's typical, intrinsic greed for discovery and their hands-on mentality with a lot of a 'don't care' attitude he's been born with. There is no childhood in poverty, no tragic, sudden loss of a parent or any other kind of outside catastrophy, just the overruling desire to do things his way that, maybe, has fallen on very fertile soil represented by some mishaps in his upbringing. Also it is just a lot easier to roam around on somebody else's private land and country if the very definition of 'private land and country' has never existed for oneself in the first place.

Behind all that stealing, ransacking and other unlawful doings to accumulate wealth is something very different than just spending all on booze, food and other short-lived benefits however. People have learned to use fire outside the realm of magic far longer ago than any book can tell. They have managed to erect giant cities from solid materials of any kind and the dream to fly like a bird in the air instead of just levitating by means of mana is a commonly accepted thing. When it comes to thunderstorms however all people know is fear and upon seeing two small metallic rocks repelling or attracting each other without any visible connection between them superstition is never far way. Otios sees electricity and magnetism as just another domain of nature both Humans and Yasoi, for some reason that has eluded him so far, have yet utterly failed to make proper, constructive use of for everyone. Nature itself has no mana, has it ? And yet it can make all of this happen, so it must be possible to do without magic, too. Unfortunately it has dawned upon Otios that even the simplest attempt to achieve a significant breakthrough in that matter might require more elaborate facilities than he could ever afford by conventional means, let alone standing against all those saying 'no' and 'that won't work!'.

Otios'yyia'thala, albeit certainly having caused a lot of outrage, crying or regret throughout his 'career', is far more focused on his personal gain than he is on affecting others with misery. He not just sees the profit of theft, but enjoys the very act of doing it. Yet on the other hand he has not killed any of those he has taken from so far and preferred escape and second try in place of spreading serious injury. The latter has happened here and there though when cornered or just pressed too hard. In fact, upon noticing that an item obtained actually has been far more useless and boring than anticipated, Otios has actually returned some of them for the sake of having fun getting in and out twice -- and the feeling of not having caused harm without also having caused someone's, his, benefit.

When not 'busy', he can most often be seen in one of two places: the local tavern endulging himself and trying to wash away unwanted memories by means of alcohol, or seeking lonelyness or at least the presence of only his closest friends in order to enter a more meditative state, thinking about future plans and the broad, far away goals of himself. One can safely judge his freelancing lifestyle to be comparably difficult to get along with, but those who have managed to not only gain his friendship, but also take the brunt of his rather exquisite job, have always been able to count on his loyality and intelligence.

B A C K G R O U N D__ _ _ _ _

Starting in AOZ12, Otios' life has not looked like being up to a vigorous start at first. His parents had already reached an unusually high age for giving birth to a child, even by Yasoi standards, so they had also already been well past the point of having to prove themselves. Malicious gossip has it that, in hindsight, this has been the root cause for Otios' derailing: Without seeing the need for a lot of adventure for themselves, Otios' parents also didn't see the need for such a thing in their only son until they could no longer hold back his growing desires and ambitions. From that point onwards overcompensation set in and the young, utterly inexperienced and not very socialized Otios' was set up for mistaking his sudden freedom with the allowance to do just everything he wanted. A miracle it's merely been becoming a thief and not the worst, cold-blooded killer the world has ever seen!

Whether this gossip is true or just rubbish ? His parents of course oppose any such accusations, and he himself does not really care or is just way too far away to pick them up in the first place. He has moved out of the Yasoi heartland several years ago for humans have just been a target looking easier and less dangerous because, again, they're much further away from where any bad word about him might actually matter and more remote regions are statistically bound to yield more interesting results than one's neighbourhood. Another thing worth mentioning might be that there are also those people who actually approve his doings once they get to know about them. Which poor man feeling left behind and exploited by all those snobs, corrupt merchants, egoistic nobles and unworldly mayors wouldn't approve such a nonchalant reversal in the flow of wealth, especially if part of said wealth might suddenly end up in his own hands in exchange for nothing more than a small favor ? Just feeling easier with humans, though Otios has never really tried that extensively within the boundaries of his own kind to have a real comparison.

Speaking of 'get to know', he so far has been pretty successful in keeping everything on a 'need to know' basis -- and any officials certainly don't need to know. He has a clean slate though he also can't rule out the possibility that some of those he has left behind might just be too clever to tell him they already know and instead could just be waiting for the right moment to strike back. It's the hazard of his profession and if breaking out of jail should have to be added to his list, then so be it.

Why should he ever report to the king for the sake of the nation though ? The answer is simple: There's nothing so well suited to forge unlikely bonds like a common enemy -- and aside from that just how incredibly less dignifying would it be to steal from those whom even the primitives regard as primitives: those barbarians of the South! Otios accepts that he might have to put aside his current creeds for the sake of the greater good and ultimately his own, long-term future. Last but not least any considerable contribution to an overall success of Parrence would weigh heavily against any future accusations that could come up against himself, be it for things already done or still to come.

I N V E N T O R Y__ _ _ _ _

❖ Two silver staffs of medium length with steel caps on their ends. They are pretty much just bolted on tightly and easy to remove and replace with others of the same or different shape. A seemingly harmless duo of identical tools that serves the purpose of conducting current in and out of potentially super-heated things without burning one's own hands. They can be used as clubs or levers, too.
❖ A small crossbow with a rope and grappling hook.
❖ Sturdy leather armor with very little metallic components included
❖ A thick fur cloak, just in case the weather turns cold and ugly
❖ Everyday necessities such as some spare food, water and a bedroll
❖ Candles
❖ Set of lockpicks
❖ A riding horse by the name of Sakar, even though, at his size, Otios'yyia'thala looks a bit weird on such a beast. He doesn't care though as long as it's a faster getaway than he can do on his own feet

T H E G I F T__ _ _ _ _

Five wheels rating: 4

Favored school: Thunder

Blood type: Thunderchild

Otios prefers low-energy applications as long as possible and can often be seen (or rather not seen) trying to invent new methods of doing things right in the field: Can this small lock be melted away by sending too much current through it ? Or can it be sorta welded together so this door cannot be opened behind his back anymore ? Can one make these sets or armor put up for the sake of decoration rattle to cause some distraction ? Or is it true that pretty much everyone is worried about his or her steps causing noise, but pretty much noone knows that their very steel breastplate or longsword causes a small distortion in the otherwise perfectly aligned magnetic field of the world itself that can be picked up ? And it can be almost disturbingly easy to incapacitate somebody if he can just get his fingers onto said somebody's skin in the right place.

Under enough pressure or if the situation just makes it too much of a viable option however Otios can do far less subtle, too. Variable magnetism induces current into metallic things without touching them, current produces heat, heat sets fire to buildings and persons. So one can set at least some things on fire without hurling an actual, terribly big and noisy flame at them and even through barriers that don't hinder magnetic flow -- how great is that ? Or just send a damn, demonstrative thunderbolt if somebody calls him out as 'slow and boring as a snail' again!

That is as far as his inclination towards the realm of electromagnetism goes. Otios is aware of the fact that he might have some significant talent with the more dubious magical art commonly called 'Blood' as well, but neither does his general desire not to spread harm without second thought allow him to just draw such an exquisite resource from other living beings, nor has his lifestyle so far allowed him to do any extensive studies yet. So, to sum things up, he does not have any real repertoire in that respect yet, just potential. Also there is one thing he could always happily manipulate without angering his own conscience: his own body.

S T R E N G T H S & S K I L L S__ _ _ _ _

❖ Maybe his most important strength is his wit
❖ Should wit not help though, he has a very high magical capacity and skill he can put to both constructive and obliterative use
❖ Stealth, not necessarily only in terms of moving himself but also with regard to aspect such as temporarily disabling or even killing persons without causing a mess
❖ His Yasoi background and physiology makes him quite good at acts of acrobatics such as climbing, jumping and using ropes or similar things. Actually much better than the uneducated onlooker might suspect at first.

W E A K N E S S E S & F L A W S__ _ _ _ _

❖ A considerable portion of his repertoire more or less depends on the situation. For example said lock might just be too thickly built to heat up enough without spending absurd amounts of energy into the necessary current, or the whole building might contain too much iron to distinguish magnetic distortions caused by an actual persons's gear from those caused by irrelevant junk.
❖ Otios does know that the double-edged side of a sword is actually meant to go into your opponent's wobbly gut and not into your holding hand, but that's pretty much for it. He has never received any real training with swords, maces or whatever other melee weaponry that is so commonly around.
❖ Otios is not exactly flimsily built and a very heavy man by means of sheer height alone already, but one has to consider the fact that all of his muscle also spreads out over all of his height so he is neither particularly strong nor particularly fast.
❖ Might be a bit hard to socialize with.

C O L O U R C O D E & O T H E R__ _ _ _ _

❖ The middle name 'yyia' is the brainchild of a few of his Yasoi friends from back in his youth. They deemed the name 'Otios'thala' to be on the borderline of being a tongue twister, so they thought that the addition of something complicated might do the trick and cause people to knot their own tongues together while trying to spell it. They put their idea to the trial with sort of an inofficial 'contest' and the sheer intensity with which Otios extended name was inadvertently maimed, butchered, abused or completely missed vocally by quite a bunch of people convinced them that he had the right to bear this addition for a lifetime.
❖ The pronounciation of his name is a little ambiguous: The parts 'Otios' and 'Thala' have a pretty straightforward phonation that is no different from other words such as 'otiose' (the adjunct) or 'thallium' (the metal). For 'yyia' however there is no such thing as a real rule in the Yasoi language for it is an artificial construct primarily designed to be complicated as descripted in the previous paragraph. Most people instinctively go for something like 'Heya', just without the H and a lot of emphasis on the 'e' however.
❖ FF9900

O R I F L A M M E

Calendar calculation

Brief explanations

'/' denotes an integer division without considering the remainder

Examples

• 5 / 5 = 1
• 5 / 3 = 1, NOT 1.66666...7
• 0 / 5 = 0
• 5 / 0 = not allowed, as always :)

'%' denotes an integer division only considering the remainder ('modulo')

Examples

• 0 % 5 = 0
• 1 % 5 = 1
• 2 % 5 = 2
• 3 % 5 = 3
• 4 % 5 = 4
• 5 % 5 = 0
• 6 % 5 = 1
• 12 % 5 = 2

The formula

Assuming you want to know the honored aspect and deity x years after year 0, you can do the following calculations:

i_cycle = x / 5
i_aspect = i_cycle % 4
i_deity = i_cycle % 5
number = ((i_cycle / 20) * 5) + (x % 5) + 1

After this you only need to map the numbers i_aspect and i_deity to their respective names according to the following tables:

Aspects
0: Aun
1: Zept
2: Aun-Zept
3: n/a

Deities
0: Ipte
1: Shune
2: Oraff
3: Eshiran
4: Dami

Important notice: The calculation is currently limited to values for x >= 0. For negative numbers the whole math might break apart or yield wrong results (to be confirmed).

(Small) lookup table

As far as I know Excel is capable of the required mathematical calculations, so it should be easy to implement an automatic table. Just in case though I've already programmed a bit and created this table for you (can be expanded as necessary):

Years 0 to 500

0: Aun-Ipte-1
1: Aun-Ipte-2
2: Aun-Ipte-3
3: Aun-Ipte-4
4: Aun-Ipte-5
5: Zept-Shune-1
6: Zept-Shune-2
7: Zept-Shune-3
8: Zept-Shune-4
9: Zept-Shune-5
10: Aun-Zept-Oraff-1
11: Aun-Zept-Oraff-2
12: Aun-Zept-Oraff-3
13: Aun-Zept-Oraff-4
14: Aun-Zept-Oraff-5
15: n/a-Eshiran-1
16: n/a-Eshiran-2
17: n/a-Eshiran-3
18: n/a-Eshiran-4
19: n/a-Eshiran-5
20: Aun-Dami-1
21: Aun-Dami-2
22: Aun-Dami-3
23: Aun-Dami-4
24: Aun-Dami-5
25: Zept-Ipte-1
26: Zept-Ipte-2
27: Zept-Ipte-3
28: Zept-Ipte-4
29: Zept-Ipte-5
30: Aun-Zept-Shune-1
31: Aun-Zept-Shune-2
32: Aun-Zept-Shune-3
33: Aun-Zept-Shune-4
34: Aun-Zept-Shune-5
35: n/a-Oraff-1
36: n/a-Oraff-2
37: n/a-Oraff-3
38: n/a-Oraff-4
39: n/a-Oraff-5
40: Aun-Eshiran-1
41: Aun-Eshiran-2
42: Aun-Eshiran-3
43: Aun-Eshiran-4
44: Aun-Eshiran-5
45: Zept-Dami-1
46: Zept-Dami-2
47: Zept-Dami-3
48: Zept-Dami-4
49: Zept-Dami-5
50: Aun-Zept-Ipte-1
51: Aun-Zept-Ipte-2
52: Aun-Zept-Ipte-3
53: Aun-Zept-Ipte-4
54: Aun-Zept-Ipte-5
55: n/a-Shune-1
56: n/a-Shune-2
57: n/a-Shune-3
58: n/a-Shune-4
59: n/a-Shune-5
60: Aun-Oraff-1
61: Aun-Oraff-2
62: Aun-Oraff-3
63: Aun-Oraff-4
64: Aun-Oraff-5
65: Zept-Eshiran-1
66: Zept-Eshiran-2
67: Zept-Eshiran-3
68: Zept-Eshiran-4
69: Zept-Eshiran-5
70: Aun-Zept-Dami-1
71: Aun-Zept-Dami-2
72: Aun-Zept-Dami-3
73: Aun-Zept-Dami-4
74: Aun-Zept-Dami-5
75: n/a-Ipte-1
76: n/a-Ipte-2
77: n/a-Ipte-3
78: n/a-Ipte-4
79: n/a-Ipte-5
80: Aun-Shune-1
81: Aun-Shune-2
82: Aun-Shune-3
83: Aun-Shune-4
84: Aun-Shune-5
85: Zept-Oraff-1
86: Zept-Oraff-2
87: Zept-Oraff-3
88: Zept-Oraff-4
89: Zept-Oraff-5
90: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-1
91: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-2
92: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-3
93: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-4
94: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-5
95: n/a-Dami-1
96: n/a-Dami-2
97: n/a-Dami-3
98: n/a-Dami-4
99: n/a-Dami-5
100: Aun-Ipte-6
101: Aun-Ipte-7
102: Aun-Ipte-8
103: Aun-Ipte-9
104: Aun-Ipte-10
105: Zept-Shune-6
106: Zept-Shune-7
107: Zept-Shune-8
108: Zept-Shune-9
109: Zept-Shune-10
110: Aun-Zept-Oraff-6
111: Aun-Zept-Oraff-7
112: Aun-Zept-Oraff-8
113: Aun-Zept-Oraff-9
114: Aun-Zept-Oraff-10
115: n/a-Eshiran-6
116: n/a-Eshiran-7
117: n/a-Eshiran-8
118: n/a-Eshiran-9
119: n/a-Eshiran-10
120: Aun-Dami-6
121: Aun-Dami-7
122: Aun-Dami-8
123: Aun-Dami-9
124: Aun-Dami-10
125: Zept-Ipte-6
126: Zept-Ipte-7
127: Zept-Ipte-8
128: Zept-Ipte-9
129: Zept-Ipte-10
130: Aun-Zept-Shune-6
131: Aun-Zept-Shune-7
132: Aun-Zept-Shune-8
133: Aun-Zept-Shune-9
134: Aun-Zept-Shune-10
135: n/a-Oraff-6
136: n/a-Oraff-7
137: n/a-Oraff-8
138: n/a-Oraff-9
139: n/a-Oraff-10
140: Aun-Eshiran-6
141: Aun-Eshiran-7
142: Aun-Eshiran-8
143: Aun-Eshiran-9
144: Aun-Eshiran-10
145: Zept-Dami-6
146: Zept-Dami-7
147: Zept-Dami-8
148: Zept-Dami-9
149: Zept-Dami-10
150: Aun-Zept-Ipte-6
151: Aun-Zept-Ipte-7
152: Aun-Zept-Ipte-8
153: Aun-Zept-Ipte-9
154: Aun-Zept-Ipte-10
155: n/a-Shune-6
156: n/a-Shune-7
157: n/a-Shune-8
158: n/a-Shune-9
159: n/a-Shune-10
160: Aun-Oraff-6
161: Aun-Oraff-7
162: Aun-Oraff-8
163: Aun-Oraff-9
164: Aun-Oraff-10
165: Zept-Eshiran-6
166: Zept-Eshiran-7
167: Zept-Eshiran-8
168: Zept-Eshiran-9
169: Zept-Eshiran-10
170: Aun-Zept-Dami-6
171: Aun-Zept-Dami-7
172: Aun-Zept-Dami-8
173: Aun-Zept-Dami-9
174: Aun-Zept-Dami-10
175: n/a-Ipte-6
176: n/a-Ipte-7
177: n/a-Ipte-8
178: n/a-Ipte-9
179: n/a-Ipte-10
180: Aun-Shune-6
181: Aun-Shune-7
182: Aun-Shune-8
183: Aun-Shune-9
184: Aun-Shune-10
185: Zept-Oraff-6
186: Zept-Oraff-7
187: Zept-Oraff-8
188: Zept-Oraff-9
189: Zept-Oraff-10
190: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-6
191: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-7
192: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-8
193: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-9
194: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-10
195: n/a-Dami-6
196: n/a-Dami-7
197: n/a-Dami-8
198: n/a-Dami-9
199: n/a-Dami-10
200: Aun-Ipte-11
201: Aun-Ipte-12
202: Aun-Ipte-13
203: Aun-Ipte-14
204: Aun-Ipte-15
205: Zept-Shune-11
206: Zept-Shune-12
207: Zept-Shune-13
208: Zept-Shune-14
209: Zept-Shune-15
210: Aun-Zept-Oraff-11
211: Aun-Zept-Oraff-12
212: Aun-Zept-Oraff-13
213: Aun-Zept-Oraff-14
214: Aun-Zept-Oraff-15
215: n/a-Eshiran-11
216: n/a-Eshiran-12
217: n/a-Eshiran-13
218: n/a-Eshiran-14
219: n/a-Eshiran-15
220: Aun-Dami-11
221: Aun-Dami-12
222: Aun-Dami-13
223: Aun-Dami-14
224: Aun-Dami-15
225: Zept-Ipte-11
226: Zept-Ipte-12
227: Zept-Ipte-13
228: Zept-Ipte-14
229: Zept-Ipte-15
230: Aun-Zept-Shune-11
231: Aun-Zept-Shune-12
232: Aun-Zept-Shune-13
233: Aun-Zept-Shune-14
234: Aun-Zept-Shune-15
235: n/a-Oraff-11
236: n/a-Oraff-12
237: n/a-Oraff-13
238: n/a-Oraff-14
239: n/a-Oraff-15
240: Aun-Eshiran-11
241: Aun-Eshiran-12
242: Aun-Eshiran-13
243: Aun-Eshiran-14
244: Aun-Eshiran-15
245: Zept-Dami-11
246: Zept-Dami-12
247: Zept-Dami-13
248: Zept-Dami-14
249: Zept-Dami-15
250: Aun-Zept-Ipte-11
251: Aun-Zept-Ipte-12
252: Aun-Zept-Ipte-13
253: Aun-Zept-Ipte-14
254: Aun-Zept-Ipte-15
255: n/a-Shune-11
256: n/a-Shune-12
257: n/a-Shune-13
258: n/a-Shune-14
259: n/a-Shune-15
260: Aun-Oraff-11
261: Aun-Oraff-12
262: Aun-Oraff-13
263: Aun-Oraff-14
264: Aun-Oraff-15
265: Zept-Eshiran-11
266: Zept-Eshiran-12
267: Zept-Eshiran-13
268: Zept-Eshiran-14
269: Zept-Eshiran-15
270: Aun-Zept-Dami-11
271: Aun-Zept-Dami-12
272: Aun-Zept-Dami-13
273: Aun-Zept-Dami-14
274: Aun-Zept-Dami-15
275: n/a-Ipte-11
276: n/a-Ipte-12
277: n/a-Ipte-13
278: n/a-Ipte-14
279: n/a-Ipte-15
280: Aun-Shune-11
281: Aun-Shune-12
282: Aun-Shune-13
283: Aun-Shune-14
284: Aun-Shune-15
285: Zept-Oraff-11
286: Zept-Oraff-12
287: Zept-Oraff-13
288: Zept-Oraff-14
289: Zept-Oraff-15
290: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-11
291: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-12
292: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-13
293: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-14
294: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-15
295: n/a-Dami-11
296: n/a-Dami-12
297: n/a-Dami-13
298: n/a-Dami-14
299: n/a-Dami-15
300: Aun-Ipte-16
301: Aun-Ipte-17
302: Aun-Ipte-18
303: Aun-Ipte-19
304: Aun-Ipte-20
305: Zept-Shune-16
306: Zept-Shune-17
307: Zept-Shune-18
308: Zept-Shune-19
309: Zept-Shune-20
310: Aun-Zept-Oraff-16
311: Aun-Zept-Oraff-17
312: Aun-Zept-Oraff-18
313: Aun-Zept-Oraff-19
314: Aun-Zept-Oraff-20
315: n/a-Eshiran-16
316: n/a-Eshiran-17
317: n/a-Eshiran-18
318: n/a-Eshiran-19
319: n/a-Eshiran-20
320: Aun-Dami-16
321: Aun-Dami-17
322: Aun-Dami-18
323: Aun-Dami-19
324: Aun-Dami-20
325: Zept-Ipte-16
326: Zept-Ipte-17
327: Zept-Ipte-18
328: Zept-Ipte-19
329: Zept-Ipte-20
330: Aun-Zept-Shune-16
331: Aun-Zept-Shune-17
332: Aun-Zept-Shune-18
333: Aun-Zept-Shune-19
334: Aun-Zept-Shune-20
335: n/a-Oraff-16
336: n/a-Oraff-17
337: n/a-Oraff-18
338: n/a-Oraff-19
339: n/a-Oraff-20
340: Aun-Eshiran-16
341: Aun-Eshiran-17
342: Aun-Eshiran-18
343: Aun-Eshiran-19
344: Aun-Eshiran-20
345: Zept-Dami-16
346: Zept-Dami-17
347: Zept-Dami-18
348: Zept-Dami-19
349: Zept-Dami-20
350: Aun-Zept-Ipte-16
351: Aun-Zept-Ipte-17
352: Aun-Zept-Ipte-18
353: Aun-Zept-Ipte-19
354: Aun-Zept-Ipte-20
355: n/a-Shune-16
356: n/a-Shune-17
357: n/a-Shune-18
358: n/a-Shune-19
359: n/a-Shune-20
360: Aun-Oraff-16
361: Aun-Oraff-17
362: Aun-Oraff-18
363: Aun-Oraff-19
364: Aun-Oraff-20
365: Zept-Eshiran-16
366: Zept-Eshiran-17
367: Zept-Eshiran-18
368: Zept-Eshiran-19
369: Zept-Eshiran-20
370: Aun-Zept-Dami-16
371: Aun-Zept-Dami-17
372: Aun-Zept-Dami-18
373: Aun-Zept-Dami-19
374: Aun-Zept-Dami-20
375: n/a-Ipte-16
376: n/a-Ipte-17
377: n/a-Ipte-18
378: n/a-Ipte-19
379: n/a-Ipte-20
380: Aun-Shune-16
381: Aun-Shune-17
382: Aun-Shune-18
383: Aun-Shune-19
384: Aun-Shune-20
385: Zept-Oraff-16
386: Zept-Oraff-17
387: Zept-Oraff-18
388: Zept-Oraff-19
389: Zept-Oraff-20
390: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-16
391: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-17
392: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-18
393: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-19
394: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-20
395: n/a-Dami-16
396: n/a-Dami-17
397: n/a-Dami-18
398: n/a-Dami-19
399: n/a-Dami-20
400: Aun-Ipte-21
401: Aun-Ipte-22
402: Aun-Ipte-23
403: Aun-Ipte-24
404: Aun-Ipte-25
405: Zept-Shune-21
406: Zept-Shune-22
407: Zept-Shune-23
408: Zept-Shune-24
409: Zept-Shune-25
410: Aun-Zept-Oraff-21
411: Aun-Zept-Oraff-22
412: Aun-Zept-Oraff-23
413: Aun-Zept-Oraff-24
414: Aun-Zept-Oraff-25
415: n/a-Eshiran-21
416: n/a-Eshiran-22
417: n/a-Eshiran-23
418: n/a-Eshiran-24
419: n/a-Eshiran-25
420: Aun-Dami-21
421: Aun-Dami-22
422: Aun-Dami-23
423: Aun-Dami-24
424: Aun-Dami-25
425: Zept-Ipte-21
426: Zept-Ipte-22
427: Zept-Ipte-23
428: Zept-Ipte-24
429: Zept-Ipte-25
430: Aun-Zept-Shune-21
431: Aun-Zept-Shune-22
432: Aun-Zept-Shune-23
433: Aun-Zept-Shune-24
434: Aun-Zept-Shune-25
435: n/a-Oraff-21
436: n/a-Oraff-22
437: n/a-Oraff-23
438: n/a-Oraff-24
439: n/a-Oraff-25
440: Aun-Eshiran-21
441: Aun-Eshiran-22
442: Aun-Eshiran-23
443: Aun-Eshiran-24
444: Aun-Eshiran-25
445: Zept-Dami-21
446: Zept-Dami-22
447: Zept-Dami-23
448: Zept-Dami-24
449: Zept-Dami-25
450: Aun-Zept-Ipte-21
451: Aun-Zept-Ipte-22
452: Aun-Zept-Ipte-23
453: Aun-Zept-Ipte-24
454: Aun-Zept-Ipte-25
455: n/a-Shune-21
456: n/a-Shune-22
457: n/a-Shune-23
458: n/a-Shune-24
459: n/a-Shune-25
460: Aun-Oraff-21
461: Aun-Oraff-22
462: Aun-Oraff-23
463: Aun-Oraff-24
464: Aun-Oraff-25
465: Zept-Eshiran-21
466: Zept-Eshiran-22
467: Zept-Eshiran-23
468: Zept-Eshiran-24
469: Zept-Eshiran-25
470: Aun-Zept-Dami-21
471: Aun-Zept-Dami-22
472: Aun-Zept-Dami-23
473: Aun-Zept-Dami-24
474: Aun-Zept-Dami-25
475: n/a-Ipte-21
476: n/a-Ipte-22
477: n/a-Ipte-23
478: n/a-Ipte-24
479: n/a-Ipte-25
480: Aun-Shune-21
481: Aun-Shune-22
482: Aun-Shune-23
483: Aun-Shune-24
484: Aun-Shune-25
485: Zept-Oraff-21
486: Zept-Oraff-22
487: Zept-Oraff-23
488: Zept-Oraff-24
489: Zept-Oraff-25
490: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-21
491: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-22
492: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-23
493: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-24
494: Aun-Zept-Eshiran-25
495: n/a-Dami-21
496: n/a-Dami-22
497: n/a-Dami-23
498: n/a-Dami-24
499: n/a-Dami-25

Winds of Fate - A Thieves' Adventure (Semi-Tabletop)

Skarsat

So first of all Neh'miah had tried to get them all into lethal jeopardy by meddling in the affairs of people who apparently were way too important to the city for its sheriff to just ignore the matter. Then their beloved (or rather not so) Solange had tried to abandon them by doing what she so far had always done: caring about herself and only herself. Just to back up these efforts and for general good measure Maréngo was not hesitant to set up a fireworks that had serious potential to consume more than just its propellant, but at least did singe Skarsat's body hair as the rapidly spreading cloud of exquisite odour could tell. Still not enough danger around ? Apparently so because now he could also hear the unmistakable thunder of cannons fired along with some of the damage that caused to the dock's surroundings. Being all in the hands of some unknown sailors' accuracy in terms of aim was not a good feeling, so the Tork tried to make an even faster run for it.

Left shoulder, that was it! The most comfortable, or rather least hindering, position for a dead body to be carried. Good thing that Neh'miah obviously had been a rather lightly built man so he didn't slow things down that much, even though the dead thief's dangling legs and feet kept hitting Skarsat in his back as he rushed towards the gangway.

No! No! This could not be! Oh how cruel fate could be! First presenting the very possibility of one's most hated enemy stumbling over nothing less than the very piece of clothing she herself had chosen to wear no matter how utterly inappropriate it foreseeably had been, then taking said possibility away again like the carrot in front of the greedy horse desperate for food. Just how nice it would have been to see Solange drenched in oily, murky water crying out for anybody to pull her out of it -- everyone except for the sheriff's men, of course!

Now was that him accidentally hitting some kind of resonance frequency while running up the gangplank or did that wooden thing bend up and down that much under his steps even without ? Would have been another good way to send someone flying into the water if only he had been a lot faster, but now all that was left for him was the significant feeling of discomfort as the swaying motion made the contents of Skarsat's stomach hitting the top end of their container again and again, too.

Only once on board the ship and thus out of the most of trouble he noticed that there was something on Neh'miah's belt which was close to Skarsat's neck. A pouch of coins, and even a lot of those. Skarsat wrapped his hand around the small leather thing and pressed his fingers against it firmly. Noone would take that away, not until its contents had been split up evenly among the remaining members of their little... expedition.

The Five Senses

Týfurkh

"If everything works well you won't have to take them down!" Týfurkh shouted, although his voice was seriously muffled whenever not directly speaking through one of the holes Chres had deliberately left open. These... heat constructs... were one damn handy thing to have, that was for sure, and Týfurkh couldn't help but secretly admire the man who was able to weave them with such accuracy despite massive repetition again and again.

Not that anybody else in the party had lacked their skill or not proven to be of great benefit for them all so far. The question was: Would he be in the end, too ? All he could do was work on it! Týfurkh started moving his mouth, his colossal chest greedily consuming the air around him so he could let it pass through his vocal chords to form an invisible trap. Or was it even invisible to the sightless ? Maybe not, but Týfurkh could not care less at this point for it would still need the sightless to actually find out that 'it' would be able to prematurely trigger the spell by moving one of the tentacles into it, which in turn however would also mean that said tentacle would no longer be available for going after anybody else while being busy preventing another buildup to an explosion. So in any case they would win, would they ?

Týfurkh's hope was that the sightless indeed was not able to see what was going over its 'head' in the first place however, and the chance of any tentacle accidentally triggering the spell was pretty low for he had placed it not directly as deep in the hole as possible from his position, but on the contrary directly below the ceiling. The plan was for the shockwave to be reflected downwards by the massive stone and then having nowhere to go down in the hole, forcing any of its contents to go up sideways and upwards.

Yes, it was a very veritable mess he was approving. There were quite a few dead bodies down in that pit and these might come up as well, but what was the alternative ? Going into melee they'd have to even step onto them anyway!

Time almost seemed to slow down for Týfurkh despite the fact that no temporal magic was involved for certain. The moving tentacles started to blur in his vision more and more, their various impacts became less and less distinguishable from each other in his ears as he transferred as much of his mental capacity as he could onto weaving the trap. Maybe not having participated in the previous fight now would even pay off a bit, even if completely unintentionally, because he was not tired yet.

Ready! Týfurkh now just neeeded to set the thing off himself and the perfect tool for this was his crossbow and one of the holes in the shield to shoot through. He aimed at the ceiling knowing that he was going to blast through an invisible beehive full of what was basically sound beyond a deafening intensity.

"Cover!" he yelled, then pulled the trigger.

The Mystery (WolfLover + Fetzen)

It seemed at least some of the gods had chosen to abandon the capital, maybe even the entire kingdom. After a prolonged period of warmth and wealth rapidly growing on the peasants' fields there had been no such thing as benign weather for weeks on end. The many alleys with their rare trees brought here from far away lands, the many parks with their maticulously laid out stone patterns, hedges and flower patches had fallen dysfunctional in terms of public attention, and now were slowly but surely even doing so with regard to the botanic aspect as well. It just had become increasingly impossible to maintain them with the steady rain and thunderstorms.

Good thing the capital city was built on solid foundations! The founders had not chosen any treacherous field full of earth that would reveal itself as a swamp ready to devour any buildings on it if just watered long enough, and they had also not fallen victim to the temptation of cutting corners when it came to anything artificial that was beneath any inhabitant's feet: The elaborate network of channels, canals and reservoirs had proven to be up to the task, as least as of now. What the next days would bring ?

Valentin was not to find out, nor was the companion he had been assigned to but whom he had yet get to know in more detail. The two of them had been scheduled to arrive at the royal guard's main barracks this dreary morning -- and if there was anything the city guard was notorious for, then it was its punctuality, or rather the steady insistence on it whenever somebody outside their ranks had to deal with them for some reason.

The barracks themselves were in complete lack of the splendor many of the city's other official buildings were decorated with. A sturdy building of simple architecture, designed for mass housing with at least some comfort left. Could be a lot worse, but better also. Valentin had been told to just wait in the courtyard, a task that made him increasingly nervous as the next drill was soon to begin and he'd be left just standing in the middle of shouting, marching soldiers while doing absolutely nothing. Was he really that hard to miss ?

O R I F L A M M E

I'd also be interested.